System, method and article of manufacture for automatic detection and storage/archival of network video

ABSTRACT

A storage controller controls a plurality of storage media devices and a network interface passively monitors network traffic and automatically detects video data in at least a portion of the network traffic, where the storage controller stores the detected video data in the storage media devices. The storage media devices where such detected video data is stored may not be the intended destination of the video data.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of Invention

The present invention relates generally to the field of data storage.More specifically, the present invention is related to a system, methodand an article of manufacture for auto-detection and storage/archival ofnetwork video.

Discussion of Related Art

The prior art is replete with examples of storage devices that are partof a network. For example, it is well known in the art to have storagedevices that are part of a storage area network (SAN) and it is wellknown in the art to have network attached storage (NAS) devices as partof a local area network (LAN), or even the wide area network (WAN), suchas the Internet. However, such prior art storage systems do not providefor automatic detection and storage/archival of network video.

Embodiments of the present invention are an improvement over prior artsystems and methods.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In one embodiment, the present invention provides for a systemcomprising: one or more storage media devices; a storage controllercontrolling the plurality of storage media devices; one or more networkinterface passively monitoring network traffic and automaticallydetecting video data in at least a portion of the network traffic; andthe storage controller storing the video data in the storage mediadevices.

In another embodiment, the present invention provides for anon-transitory, computer accessible memory medium storing programinstructions for storing video data in a plurality of storage mediadevices, wherein the program instructions are executable by a processingelement to: passively monitor network traffic originating at a sourceintended for a destination; automatically detecting video data in atleast a portion of the monitored network traffic; and storing the videodata in a storage system, the storage system not the intendeddestination.

In another embodiment, the present invention provides for anon-transitory, computer accessible memory medium storing programinstructions for storing video data, wherein the program instructionsare executable by a processing element in a storage system to: passivelymonitor network traffic originating at a source intended for adestination; automatically detect video data and non-video data from thesource in at least a portion of the monitored network traffic; storingthe video data in the storage system that is not the destination. In anextended embodiment, the non-video data is forwarded to the destination.In another extended embodiment, the non-video data may be discarded.

In another embodiment, the present invention provides for a method forstoring video data in a plurality of storage media devices, wherein themethod comprises: passively monitoring network traffic originating at asource intended for a destination; automatically detecting video data inat least a portion of the monitored network traffic; and storing thevideo data in a storage system, where the storage system not theintended destination.

In another embodiment, the present invention provides for a method forstoring video data, wherein the method comprises: passively monitoringnetwork traffic originating at a source intended for a destination;automatically detecting video data and non-video data from the source inat least a portion of the monitored network traffic; and storing thevideo data in the storage system that is not the destination. In anextended embodiment, the non-video data is forwarded to the destination.In another extended embodiment, the non-video data may be discarded.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present disclosure, in accordance with one or more various examples,is described in detail with reference to the following figures. Thedrawings are provided for purposes of illustration only and merelydepict examples of the disclosure. These drawings are provided tofacilitate the reader's understanding of the disclosure and should notbe considered limiting of the breadth, scope, or applicability of thedisclosure. It should be noted that for clarity and ease of illustrationthese drawings are not necessarily made to scale.

FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 illustrate system diagrams associated with variousembodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 illustrate examples of method associated with thepresent invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

While this invention is illustrated and described in a preferredembodiment, the invention may be produced in many differentconfigurations. There is depicted in the drawings, and will herein bedescribed in detail, a preferred embodiment of the invention, with theunderstanding that the present disclosure is to be considered as anexemplification of the principles of the invention and the associatedfunctional specifications for its construction and is not intended tolimit the invention to the embodiment illustrated. Those skilled in theart will envision many other possible variations within the scope of thepresent invention.

Note that in this description, references to “one embodiment” or “anembodiment” mean that the feature being referred to is included in atleast one embodiment of the invention. Further, separate references to“one embodiment” in this description do not necessarily refer to thesame embodiment; however, neither are such embodiments mutuallyexclusive, unless so stated and except as will be readily apparent tothose of ordinary skill in the art. Thus, the present invention caninclude any variety of combinations and/or integrations of theembodiments described herein.

The present invention contemplates a storage system with the ability topassively watch a network, identify video traffic, and automaticallyconfigure itself to store this video traffic. Passive monitoring watchesexisting traffic flow on a network to deduce a great deal of informationabout such traffic flow and the data it carries. Such deducedinformation may then be used to automate decisions regarding thetraffic. The present invention further contemplates a storage systemwith the ability to passively watch a network, identify video traffic,and automatically configure itself to store this video traffic based onthe content of the video traffic. For example, the video traffic may beautomatically stored by the storage system when one or more imagerecognition algorithms detect one or more product or manufacturer logospresent in the video traffic content. The video traffic may also beautomatically stored by the storage system when motion is detected orwhen motion is not detected in the video traffic content. Such motiondetection may view the entire video picture or subsets thereof (i.e. oneor more regions within the video picture). The video traffic may bepassing from point A to point B (where the storage system is not thedestination but otherwise has network visibility to the traffic), may bedirected to the storage system, or may be directed to the “bit bucket”(a destination that does not exist).

The system may follow a set of rules to define how much of the video tostore, how to name the files/objects, how stored video data should betiered (pushing low frequency of use video to archive or slower storagesystems or pushing high frequency of use video data to faster storagesystems, such as solid-state storage media devices), etc. A file orobject refers to constant-sized or variable-sized collections of datathat have the same name or reference. The storage system may beconfigured on the fly or configured in advance. Also, in instances wheresuch a video stream stops for a pre-determined period of time, thecorresponding file may be closed, and should another video streamreturn, another file may be opened for writing/storage.

The names of the files may also be automatically generated based on somecombination of rules, date-time, camera address, metadata provided by asource, etc. The storage system may also allow for rolling or circularstorage, such as a storing the last 4 hours of video, etc. It is alsoenvisioned in a separate embodiment that the camera may control thelength of capture/storage. For example, in a camera that supportsmotion-based capture or intrusion-detection-based capture, the cameramay already be programmed to stream an event-based video segment for atime period following such detection or intrusion. In these instances,the present invention's storage system automatically captures suchevent-based video segments.

In one embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, the present invention providesfor a system 100 comprising: a plurality of storage media devices 104;one or more storage controllers 102 controlling the plurality of storagemedia devices 104; one or more network interfaces 106 passivelymonitoring network traffic 108 and automatically detecting video data inat least a portion of the network traffic; and a storage controller 102storing the video data in the storage media devices. It should be notedthat there may be other components in system 100, including one or moreprocessing elements RAM, ROM, etc. It should also be noted that theremay be other components in storage controller 102, including one or moreprocessing elements RAM, ROM, etc. The passive monitoring may beperformed by the storage controller 102 or by other processing elementswithin system 100.

In another embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, the present inventionprovides for a system 200 comprising: a plurality of storage mediadevices 204; one or more storage controllers 202 controlling theplurality of storage media devices 204; one or more network interfaces206; and one or more monitors 201 passively monitoring network traffic208 and automatically detecting video data in at least a portion of thenetwork traffic; and a storage controller 202 storing the video data inthe storage media devices. A monitor 201 may be performing a subset ofthe passive monitoring, each monitor 201 responsible for a differenttype of video data. Optionally storage controller 202 may also performsome of the passive monitoring. It should be noted that there may beother components in system 200, including one or more processingelements RAM, ROM, etc. It should also be noted that there may be othercomponents in monitor 201, including one or more processing elementsRAM, ROM, etc. Further, monitor 201 need not be collocated with thestorage controller 202 and storage media devices 204 and may beimplemented with a separate integrated circuit device and may be locatedwithin a separate physical enclosure.

In another embodiment, the present invention provides for a systemcomprising: a plurality of storage media devices; a storage controllercontrolling the plurality of storage media devices; a network interfacepassively monitoring network traffic and automatically detecting videodata in at least a portion of the network traffic; and the storagecontroller archiving the video data in the storage media devices.Archiving is separated from storing and is defined as long termretention of video data, considered to be a complete data-set, which maybe combined with other video data or metadata into one file whileoptionally compressing such video data or metadata. To store video datais to accumulate said video data for future likely usage keeping suchdata readily accessible with a shorter lifespan than an archive. While asystem diagram is not provided for this embodiment, it is noted thatthis is done to avoid redundancy, as the system diagram would be similarto that of FIG. 1.

In another embodiment, the present invention provides for a systemcomprising: a plurality of storage media devices; a storage controllercontrolling the plurality of storage media devices; a network interfacepassively monitoring network traffic and automatically detecting videodata in at least a portion of the network traffic; the storagecontroller archiving the video data in the storage media devices, andprocessing the archived video data to serve the archived video data asvideo-on-demand data. The archived video data may then be indexed and adirectory created to facilitate usage in a video-on-demand system, thisprocessing is well known in the industry and is beyond the scope of thisinvention. While a system diagram is not provided for this embodiment,it is noted that this is done to avoid redundancy, as the system diagramwould be similar to that of FIG. 1.

In yet another embodiment, the present invention provides for a systemcomprising: a plurality of storage media devices; a storage controllercontrolling the plurality of storage media devices; a network interfacepassively monitoring network traffic and automatically detecting videodata in at least a portion of the network traffic; the storagecontroller storing the video data in the storage media devices, andprocessing the stored video data to serve the stored video data asvideo-on-demand data. The stored video data may then be indexed and adirectory created to facilitate usage in a video-on-demand system, thisprocessing is well known in the industry and is beyond the scope of thisinvention. As above, while a system diagram is not provided for thisembodiment, it is noted that this is done to avoid redundancy, as thesystem diagram would be similar to that of FIG. 1.

In another embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3, the present inventionprovides for a non-transitory, computer accessible memory medium storingprogram instructions for storing video data in a plurality of storagemedia devices, wherein the program instructions are executable by aprocessing element to: passively monitor network traffic originating ata source intended for a destination—step 302; automatically detectingvideo data in at least a portion of the monitored network traffic—step304; and storing the video data in a storage system, the storage systemnot the intended destination—step 306.

In another embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, the present inventionprovides for a non-transitory, computer accessible memory medium storingprogram instructions for archiving video data in a plurality of storagemedia devices, wherein the program instructions are executable by aprocessing element in a storage system to: passively monitor networktraffic from a source to a destination—step 402; automatically detectvideo data in at least a portion of the network traffic—step 404; andarchive the video data in the storage media devices—step 406.

In another embodiment, the present invention provides for anon-transitory, computer accessible memory medium storing programinstructions for storing video data, wherein the program instructionsare executable by a processing element in a storage system to: passivelymonitor network traffic originating at a source intended for adestination; automatically detect video data and non-video data from thesource in at least a portion of the monitored network traffic; storingthe video data in the storage system that is not the destination. In anextended embodiment, the non-video data is forwarded to the destination.In yet another embodiment, the non-video data may be discarded.

In another embodiment, the present invention provides for a method forstoring video data in a plurality of storage media devices, wherein themethod comprises: passively monitoring network traffic originating at asource intended for a destination; automatically detecting video data inat least a portion of the monitored network traffic; and storing thevideo data in a storage system, where the storage system not theintended destination.

In another embodiment, the present invention provides for a method forstoring video data, wherein the method comprises: passively monitoringnetwork traffic originating at a source intended for a destination;automatically detecting video data and non-video data from the source inat least a portion of the monitored network traffic; and storing thevideo data in the storage system that is not the destination. In anextended embodiment, the non-video data is forwarded to the destination.In another extended embodiment, the non-video data may be discarded.

It should be noted that while the specification refers to at least onestorage controller, the teachings of the present invention equallyapplies to a plurality of storage controllers, including multiple,distributed, storage controllers. Also, while, for the sake ofsimplicity, the system is described as being within a chassis, it shouldbe noted that the entire system need not be co-located within onechassis or physical location, as one or more individual elements may belocated as part of a different chassis/location. Additionally, thesystem may also have parent and child storage controllers, where aparent storage controller makes decisions to balance across childstorage controllers, who may then make decisions to balance across theirchild storage controllers, etc. (eventually hitting storage mediadevices connected to last storage controller(s) in the chain. As anon-limiting example, a storage controller may balance load across a boxcomprising a plurality of storage media devices, where a master storagecontroller may be connected to a plurality of such storage controllersto perform load balancing across a plurality of such boxes, each havinga plurality of storage media devices.

The above-described features and applications can be implemented assoftware processes that are specified as a set of instructions recordedon a computer readable storage medium (also referred to as computerreadable medium). When these instructions are executed by one or moreprocessing element(s) (e.g., one or more processors, cores ofprocessors, or other processing elements), they cause the processingelement(s) to perform the actions indicated in the instructions.Embodiments within the scope of the present disclosure may also includetangible and/or non-transitory computer-readable storage media forcarrying or having computer-executable instructions or data structuresstored thereon. Such non-transitory computer-readable storage media canbe any available media that can be accessed by a general purpose orspecial purpose computer, including the functional design of any specialpurpose processor. By way of example, and not limitation, suchnon-transitory computer-readable media can include flash memory, RAM,ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storageor other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium which can be usedto carry or store desired program code means in the form ofcomputer-executable instructions, data structures, or processor chipdesign. The computer readable media does not include carrier waves andelectronic signals passing wirelessly or over wired connections.

Computer-executable instructions include, for example, instructions anddata which cause a general purpose computer, special purpose computer,or special purpose processing device to perform a certain function orgroup of functions. Computer-executable instructions also includeprogram modules that are executed by computers in stand-alone or networkenvironments. Generally, program modules include routines, programs,components, data structures, objects, and the functions inherent in thedesign of special-purpose processors, etc. that perform particular tasksor implement particular abstract data types. Computer-executableinstructions, associated data structures, and program modules representexamples of the program code means for executing steps of the methodsdisclosed herein. The particular sequence of such executableinstructions or associated data structures represents examples ofcorresponding acts for implementing the functions described in suchsteps.

A computer program (also known as a program, software, softwareapplication, script, or code) can be written in any form of programminglanguage, including compiled or interpreted languages, declarative orprocedural languages, and it can be deployed in any form, including as astand-alone program or as a module, component, subroutine, object, orother unit suitable for use in a computing environment. A computerprogram may, but need not, correspond to a file in a file system. Aprogram can be stored in a portion of a file that holds other programsor data (e.g., one or more scripts stored in a markup languagedocument), in a single file dedicated to the program in question, or inmultiple coordinated files (e.g., files that store one or more modules,sub programs, or portions of code). A computer program can be deployedto be executed on one computer or on multiple computers that are locatedat one site or distributed across multiple sites and interconnected by acommunication network.

These functions described above can be implemented in digital electroniccircuitry, in computer software, firmware or hardware. The techniquescan be implemented using one or more computer program products. Theprocesses and logic flows can be performed by one or more programmableprocessors and by one or more programmable logic circuitry. General andspecial purpose computing devices and storage devices can beinterconnected through communication networks.

Some implementations include electronic components, for examplemicroprocessors, storage and memory that store computer programinstructions in a machine-readable or computer-readable medium(alternatively referred to as computer-readable storage media,machine-readable media, or machine-readable storage media). Someexamples of such computer-readable media include RAM, ROM, read-onlycompact discs (CD-ROM), recordable compact discs (CD-R), rewritablecompact discs (CD-RW), read-only digital versatile discs (e.g., DVD-ROM,dual-layer DVD-ROM), a variety of recordable/rewritable DVDs (e.g.,DVD-RAM, DVD-RW, DVD+RW, etc.), flash memory (e.g., SD cards, mini-SDcards, micro-SD cards, etc.), magnetic or solid state hard drives,read-only and recordable Blu-Ray® discs, ultra density optical discs,any other optical or magnetic media, and floppy disks. Thecomputer-readable media can store a computer program that is executableby at least one processing element and includes sets of instructions forperforming various operations. Examples of computer programs or computercode include machine code, for example is produced by a compiler, andfiles including higher-level code that are executed by a computer, anelectronic component, or a microprocessor using an interpreter.

While the above discussion primarily refers to microprocessor ormulti-core processors that execute software, some implementations areperformed by one or more integrated circuits, for example applicationspecific integrated circuits (ASICs) or field programmable gate arrays(FPGAs). In some implementations, such integrated circuits executeinstructions that are stored on/within the circuit itself. In someimplementations, such as with FPGAs, software may be used to describehardware circuits, an example of which are FPGA programming files. SuchFPGA programming files may also include computer programs, machine code,microcode, firmware, and other software. The FPGA programming files maybe stored within an FPGA, ASIC, computer-readable storage media,machine-readable media, or machine-readable storage media.

As used in this specification and any claims of this application, theterms “computer”, “server”, “processor”, and “memory” all refer toelectronic or other technological devices. These terms exclude people orgroups of people. For the purposes of the specification, the termsdisplay or displaying means displaying on an electronic device. As usedin this specification and any claims of this application, the terms“computer readable medium” and “computer readable media” are entirelyrestricted to tangible, physical objects that store information in aform that is readable by a computer. These terms exclude any wirelesssignals, wired download signals, and any other ephemeral signals.

Those of skill in the art will appreciate that other embodiments of thedisclosure may be practiced in network computing environments with manytypes of computer system configurations, including personal computers,hand-held devices, multi-processor systems, ASIC-based systems,FPGA-based systems, microprocessor-based or programmable consumerelectronics, network PCs, minicomputers, mainframe computers, and thelike. Embodiments may also be practiced in distributed computingenvironments where tasks are performed by local and remote processingdevices that are linked (either by hardwired links, wireless links, orby a combination thereof) through a communications network. In adistributed computing environment, program modules may be located inboth local and remote memory storage devices.

It is understood that any specific order or hierarchy of steps in theprocesses disclosed is an illustration of example approaches. Based upondesign preferences, it is understood that the specific order orhierarchy of steps in the processes may be rearranged, or that allillustrated steps be performed. Some of the steps may be performedsimultaneously. For example, in certain circumstances, multitasking andparallel processing may be advantageous. Moreover, the separation ofvarious system components illustrated above should not be understood asrequiring such separation, and it should be understood that thedescribed program components and systems can generally be integratedtogether in a single software product or packaged into multiple softwareproducts.

Various modifications to these aspects will be readily apparent, and thegeneric principles defined herein may be applied to other aspects. Thus,the claims are not intended to be limited to the aspects shown herein,but is to be accorded the full scope consistent with the languageclaims, where reference to an element in the singular is not intended tomean “one and only one” unless specifically so stated, but rather “oneor more.” Unless specifically stated otherwise, the term “some” refersto one or more. Pronouns in the masculine (e.g., his) include thefeminine and neuter gender (e.g., her and its) and vice versa. Headingsand subheadings, if any, are used for convenience only and do not limitthe subject technology.

A phrase, for example, an “aspect” does not imply that the aspect isessential to the subject technology or that the aspect applies to allconfigurations of the subject technology. A disclosure relating to anaspect may apply to all configurations, or one or more configurations. Aphrase, for example, an aspect may refer to one or more aspects and viceversa. A phrase, for example, a “configuration” does not imply that suchconfiguration is essential to the subject technology or that suchconfiguration applies to all configurations of the subject technology. Adisclosure relating to a configuration may apply to all configurations,or one or more configurations. A phrase, for example, a configurationmay refer to one or more configurations and vice versa.

The various embodiments described above are provided by way ofillustration only and should not be construed to limit the scope of thedisclosure. Those skilled in the art will readily recognize variousmodifications and changes that may be made to the principles describedherein without following the example embodiments and applicationsillustrated and described herein, and without departing from the spiritand scope of the disclosure.

While this specification contains many specific implementation details,these should not be construed as limitations on the scope of anyinvention or of what may be claimed, but rather as descriptions offeatures that may be specific to particular embodiments of particularinventions. Certain features that are described in this specification inthe context of separate embodiments can also be implemented incombination in a single embodiment. Conversely, various features thatare described in the context of a single embodiment can also beimplemented in multiple embodiments separately or in any suitablesubcombination. Moreover, although features may be described above asacting in certain combinations and even initially claimed as such, oneor more features from a claimed combination can in some cases be excisedfrom the combination, and the claimed combination may be directed to asubcombination or variation of a subcombination.

Similarly, while operations are depicted in the drawings in a particularorder, this should not be understood as requiring that such operationsbe performed in the particular order shown or in sequential order, orthat all illustrated operations be performed, to achieve desirableresults. In certain circumstances, multitasking and parallel processingmay be advantageous. Moreover, the separation of various systemcomponents in the embodiments described above should not be understoodas requiring such separation in all embodiments, and it should beunderstood that the described program components and systems cangenerally be integrated together in a single software product orpackaged into multiple software products.

As noted above, particular embodiments of the subject matter have beendescribed, but other embodiments are within the scope of the followingclaims. For example, the actions recited in the claims can be performedin a different order and still achieve desirable results. As oneexample, the processes depicted in the accompanying figures do notnecessarily require the particular order shown, or sequential order, toachieve desirable results. In certain implementations, multitasking andparallel processing may be advantageous.

CONCLUSION

A system and method has been shown in the above embodiments for theeffective implementation of a system, method and an article ofmanufacture for network video auto-detection and storage/archival. Whilevarious preferred embodiments have been shown and described, it will beunderstood that there is no intent to limit the invention by suchdisclosure, but rather, it is intended to cover all modificationsfalling within the spirit and scope of the invention, as defined in theappended claims. For example, the present invention should not belimited by software/program, computing environment, or specificcomputing hardware.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A system comprising: a plurality of storagemedia devices; a storage controller controlling said plurality ofstorage media devices; a network interface passively monitoring networktraffic, at a point on a network between an origin of the networktraffic and a destination of the network traffic, and automaticallydetecting video data in at least a portion of said network traffic; andsaid storage controller storing said video data in said storage mediadevices, at a location other than the origin and the destination of thenetwork traffic, while the network traffic flows from the origin to thedestination via the network, the storing said video data responsive toanalyzing content of the video data.
 2. The system of claim 1, whereinsaid video data is stored as one or more objects, with name of said oneor more objects based on any of, or a combination of, the following: oneor more naming rules, date, time, metadata provided by a source, cameranetwork address, or camera name.
 3. The system of claim 1, wherein saidstorage controller passively monitors and stores said video data for apre-defined duration of time.
 4. The system of claim 1, wherein saidstorage controller passively monitors and stores said video data for upto a pre-defined data size.
 5. The system of claim 1, wherein saidsystem is implemented as part of any of the following: storage areanetwork (SAN) or network attached storage (NAS) device.
 6. Anon-transitory, computer accessible memory medium storing programinstructions for storing video data in a plurality of storage mediadevices, wherein the program instructions are executable by a processingelement to: passively monitor network traffic originating at a source ata first point on a network and having a destination at a second point onthe network; automatically detecting video data in at least a portion ofsaid monitored network traffic; and storing said video data in a storagesystem while said monitored network traffic passes from the first pointto the second point along the network, said storage system not saiddestination, the storing said video data responsive to analyzing contentof the video data.
 7. The non-transitory, computer accessible memorymedium of claim 6, wherein said video data is stored as one or moreobjects, with name of said one or more objects based on any of, or acombination of, the following: one or naming rules, date, time, cameranetwork address, or camera name.
 8. The non-transitory, computeraccessible memory medium of claim 6, wherein said video data ispassively monitored and stored for a pre-defined duration of time. 9.The non-transitory, computer accessible memory medium of claim 6,wherein said video data is passively monitored and stored for up to apre-defined data size.
 10. The non-transitory, computer accessiblememory medium of claim 6, wherein said plurality of storage mediadevices are implemented as part of any of the following: storage areanetwork (SAN) or network attached storage (NAS) device.
 11. Anon-transitory, computer accessible memory medium storing programinstructions for storing video data, wherein the program instructionsare executable by a processing element in a storage system to: passivelymonitor network traffic originating at a source at a first point on anetwork, the network traffic having a destination at a second point onthe network; automatically detect video data and non-video data from thesource in at least a portion of the monitored network traffic; storingthe video data in the storage system, which is not the destination, asthe monitored network traffic flows from the source, along the network,to the destination, the storing said video data responsive to analyzingcontent of the video data.
 12. The non-transitory, computer accessiblememory medium of claim 11, wherein said medium further storing programinstructions to forward the non-video data the destination.
 13. Thenon-transitory, computer accessible memory medium of claim 11, whereinsaid video data is stored as one or more objects, with name of said oneor more objects based on any of, or a combination of, the following: oneor naming rules, date, time, camera network address, or camera name. 14.The non-transitory, computer accessible memory medium of claim 11,wherein said video data is stored for a pre-defined duration of time.15. The non-transitory, computer accessible memory medium of claim 11,wherein said video data stored for up to a pre-defined data size. 16.The non-transitory, computer accessible memory medium of claim 11,wherein said storage system is part of any of the following: storagearea network (SAN) or network attached storage (NAS) device.